19-letter words containing w, l
- scale down (or up) — to reduce (or increase), often according to a fixed ratio or proportion
- see one's way clear — to be willing (to do something)
- sell down the river — a natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definite course or channel or series of diverging and converging channels.
- siberian wallflower — a North American plant, Erysimum asperum, of the mustard family, having orange-yellow flowers.
- sir wilfrid laurier — Sir Wilfrid [wil-frid;; French weel-freed] /ˈwɪl frɪd;; French wilˈfrid/ (Show IPA), 1841–1919, Canadian statesman: prime minister 1896–1911.
- sleepy hollow chair — an armchair of the mid-19th century, sometimes on rockers, having a single piece forming a high upholstered back and a concave upholstered seat.
- so what else is new — not surprised
- sow one's wild oats — any uncultivated species of Avena, especially a common weedy grass, A. fatua, resembling the cultivated oat.
- st. lawrence seaway — a series of channels, locks, and canals between Montreal and the mouth of Lake Ontario, a distance of 182 miles (293 km), enabling most deep-draft vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean, up the St. Lawrence River, to all the Great Lakes ports: developed jointly by the U.S. and Canada.
- swallow one's words — to retract a statement, argument, etc, often in humiliating circumstances
- swallow-tailed coat — tail coat.
- swallow-tailed kite — an American kite, Elanoides forficatus, having black upper parts, white head and underparts, and a long, deeply forked tail.
- swedish nightingale — Jenny (Johanna Maria Lind Goldschmidt"The Swedish Nightingale") 1820–87, Swedish soprano.
- sweetheart neckline — a neckline on a woman's garment, as a dress, with a high back and a low-cut front with two curved edges resembling the conventionalized shape of a heart.
- sweetness and light — extreme or excessive pleasantness or amiability.
- switchblade (knife) — a large jackknife that snaps open when a release button on the handle is pressed
- teaching fellowship — a fellowship providing a student in a graduate school with free tuition and expenses and stipulating that the student assume some teaching duties in return.
- the whole enchilada — all of it; everything; the entirety of something
- the wolverine state — a Midwestern state in the Great Lakes area of the north central US
- the world of cryton — (TWOC) A BBS for the Acorn Archimedes. Telephone: +44 (1749) 670 030 (24hrs, most speeds).
- third law of motion — any of three laws of classical mechanics, either the law that a body remains at rest or in motion with a constant velocity unless an external force acts on the body (first law of motion) the law that the sum of the forces acting on a body is equal to the product of the mass of the body and the acceleration produced by the forces, with motion in the direction of the resultant of the forces (second law of motion) or the law that for every force acting on a body, the body exerts a force having equal magnitude and the opposite direction along the same line of action as the original force (third law of motion or law of action and reaction)
- throw cold water on — having a relatively low temperature; having little or no warmth: cold water; a cold day.
- throw oneself at sb — If someone throws themselves at you, they make it very obvious that they want to begin a relationship with you, by behaving as though they are sexually attracted to you.
- throw to the wolves — to propel or cast in any way, especially to project or propel from the hand by a sudden forward motion or straightening of the arm and wrist: to throw a ball.
- tidal power station — a power station where the energy of flowing water is converted into electricity
- to be headline news — to attract a lot of attention from newspapers
- to blow a raspberry — If you blow a raspberry, you make a sound by putting your tongue out and blowing, in order to insult someone.
- to blow the whistle — If you blow the whistle on someone, or on something secret or illegal, you tell another person, especially a person in authority, what is happening.
- to clutch at straws — If you are clutching at straws or grasping at straws, you are trying unusual or extreme ideas or methods because other ideas or methods have failed.
- to follow your nose — If you follow your nose to get to a place, you go straight ahead or follow the most obvious route.
- to lay down the law — If you say that someone lays down the law, you are critical of them because they give other people orders and they think that they are always right.
- to leave well alone — If someone tells you to leave well alone, they are telling you not to interfere in something, because it is all right as it is and you might only make it worse.
- to let someone know — If you let someone know something, you tell them about it or make sure that they know about it.
- to lick your wounds — If you say that someone is licking their wounds, you mean that they are recovering after being defeated or made to feel ashamed or unhappy.
- to plumb new depths — If you say that something plumbs new depths, you mean that it is worse than all the things of its kind that have existed before, even though some of them have been very bad.
- to pull your weight — If you pull your weight, you work as hard as everyone else who is involved in the same task or activity.
- to wet your whistle — To wet your whistle means to have a drink.
- traveling-wave tube — an electron tube used in microwave communications systems, having an electron beam directed coaxially through a wire helix to produce amplification.
- trickle-down theory — an economic theory that monetary benefits directed especially by the government to big business will in turn pass down to and profit smaller businesses and the general public.
- unlawful possession — possession of substances or items (such as drugs or guns) for which criminal sanctions exist because they may not be legally possessed or may not be possessed under certain circumstances
- up against the wall — any of various permanent upright constructions having a length much greater than the thickness and presenting a continuous surface except where pierced by doors, windows, etc.: used for shelter, protection, or privacy, or to subdivide interior space, to support floors, roofs, or the like, to retain earth, to fence in an area, etc.
- value added network — (networking) (VAN) A privately owned network that provides a specific service, such as legal research or access to a specialised database, for a fee. A Value Added Network usually offers some service or information that is not readily available on public networks. A Value Added Network's customers typically purchase leased lines that connect them to the network or they use a dial-up number, given by the network owner, to gain access to the network.
- venus of willendorf — a village in NE Austria, near Krems: site of an Aurignacian settlement where a 4½ inches (11 cm) limestone statuette (Venus of Willendorf) was found.
- wade-giles (system) — a system for transliterating Chinese ideograms into the Latin alphabet, in wide use esp. before Pinyin was adopted by the People's Republic of China in 1979
- wage-push inflation — an inflationary trend caused by wage increases that in turn cause rises in production costs and prices.
- wandering albatross — a large albatross, Diomedea exulans, of southern waters, having the plumage mostly white with dark markings on the upper parts.
- waste disposal unit — an electrically operated fitment in the plughole of a kitchen sink that breaks up food refuse so that it goes down the waste pipe
- waterglass painting — stereochromy.
- wearable technology — a small computer or advanced electronic device that is worn or carried on the body: the trendiest wearable technologies.
- weeping golden bell — a Chinese shrub, Forsythia suspensa, of the olive family, having long, arching, pendulous, hollow branches that root at the tip in age, and golden-yellow flowers.